The present invention generally relates to a lost and found system for personal items, and more particularly relates to a system for facilitating the recovery of a lost item of a user using interactive voice response technology.
The problem of locating lost items has troubled people for years. The typical situation arises when people misplace their car key, house key, cell phone, wallet or purse. After coming to terms with the momentary shock that such a loss may evoke, people generally find themselves checking every possible location where the lost item could be, or calling or visiting a myriad of places where they recently went, many times to no avail. The sheer number of portable objects that exist in the world today, ranging from jewelry and electronic devices to vehicles and luggage, has made this problem all the more widespread. Consequently, a need has arisen for an improved system that assists people in recovering their missing items.
Some people have attempted to prevent permanent loss of their items by affixing their contact information to their items for finders to call. The idea behind the approach is that if an owner of an item accidentally misplaces their item in a public place, a finder or passerby who happens to come across the item can notify the owner of the missing item. However, this approach is unfavorable to owners or finders who desire to maintain their privacy. For example, owners may not want to leave their phone number or address in public view for other people to see, and finders who call owners to report missing items may not want their phone number to appear on the owners' caller ID.
Alternatively, many people have attempted to use tracking devices and mobile applications that use cellular, global position satellite (GPS), or Bluetooth technology to assist them in locating their lost items. Typical examples of tracking devices include tags having wireless chips that, when affixed to lost objects, communicate their location to a software application on a mobile device. However, the use of tracking devices and mobile applications are not always dependable. For instance, tracking devices that use Bluetooth technology typically only work if the owner is in close proximity to the lost item. If the owner lost the item in a location not proximal to the owner, such as on a moving bus or at a far-away destination, then the tracking device will not operate.
Furthermore, the location of the missing object itself may interfere with the tracking device or software application. For example, if the tracking device uses GPS technology and the lost item is located in an area with questionable satellite reception, such as an underground subway, then the owner may be unable to find the lost item because the GPS location of the object will be difficult to pinpoint. Moreover, if the lost object is the tracking device or carrier of the software application itself, such as a smartphone or tablet, then the technology is evidently useless for finding the lost item. Additionally, low battery power and sporadic wireless connection failures may also render the tracking device ineffectual.
Hence, there is a need for a system that facilitates the recovery of an owner's lost item while protecting the privacy of owners and finders. There is a further need for a system that facilitates the recovery of a lost item without depending on wireless tracking devices or software applications that use GPS or Bluetooth technology. The present invention meets this and other needs.